Lordsmead Pre-School Playgroup

Woodland learning and parent-led decision-making give Lordsmead Pre-School Playgroup its character. Based at St Peters Church in Chippenham, this independent, non-profit charity cares for children aged two, three and four, with capacity for 32 children in total. A committee of parents runs the setting, giving families a role beyond receiving updates about their child.

Ofsted rated the provision Good at its October 2022 inspection. The practical attractions are concrete: a large playroom, an outdoor play area usable throughout the year, and Forest School sessions involving exploration and play in nearby woods. The School Preparation Group adds activities aimed at confidence and independence before starting school. Morning, afternoon and all-day attendance are offered during term time.

Rooms and Ages

The church premises provide a large playroom, a registration/singing room and a school preparation room. Alongside the indoor rooms, the secure outdoor play area can be used throughout the year, giving outdoor play a place beyond occasional fine-weather activities.

The School Preparation Group supplements the Main Room, with activities directed towards doing things independently and feeling confident about starting school. Places in the group are allocated by age.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for learning through play, covering language, physical development, relationships, early reading and number work, creativity and understanding the world. Lordsmead links its activities to these areas. Its stated aims include helping children experiment with materials, solve problems, express ideas and take responsibility for things they can do themselves.

Forest School sessions add woodland exploration to that everyday framework. They take place among the trees in St Peter’s Academy grounds, where children learn about their surroundings through play they initiate themselves. The setting also has access to a running track. Woodland activity and running give children different ways to move, cooperate and explore beyond the indoor playroom.

Specific examples show how stories become practical activities. Yucky worms prompted children to lift logs and examine worms in a bug viewer. Harry and his bucketful of dinosaurs led to paired number activities, matching dinosaurs to a number in a bucket. These are examples of work already undertaken, rather than a fixed timetable: books provide a starting point for observation, conversation and counting.

In October 2022, children took part in woodland sessions each week, including listening to sounds overhead, climbing trees and handling tools. Staff helped them understand the rules surrounding these activities. The emphasis was on learning to assess situations and solve problems while exploring, rather than simply spending time outside.

Language deserves equal attention. In October 2022, stories and familiar songs supported communication, but some practitioners relied too heavily on questions with short, fixed answers and did not consistently model accurate language. Developing vocabulary was therefore an improvement priority. This matters because a busy activity needs purposeful conversation as well as interesting materials.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has an allocated key worker who follows their development and records progress in a journal. Parents can discuss learning with that practitioner, and key workers are accessible when sessions finish. This gives families a particular person with whom to share changes at home or questions about development, rather than relying solely on messages to the whole staff team.

Settling starts with up to three stay-and-play sessions attended together by parent and child. After the child begins, parents may remain for one or two sessions if needed, although the preschool asks them to attempt separation by the third session. A parent can sit in another room while the child begins spending short periods independently. The approach combines familiar company with a gradual move towards staying alone.

In October 2022, practitioners observed what children could already do and used that knowledge to plan further learning. Relationships with families included regular updates and encouragement to continue learning at home. Current support for home activities also includes staff-read stories and ideas such as A Colourful Frozen Rainbow and Mother Earth terrarium, giving families concrete starting points for shared activity.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The manager holds the SENCO role, supported by a deputy SENCO. Children do not have to be dry to attend: toileting needs can be discussed with the manager. That removes toilet training as an entry condition and allows the conversation to centre on the individual child’s needs.

At the October 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and judged that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, alongside those receiving additional funding, were making good progress. These are dated findings rather than a guarantee about any individual child’s experience.

Daily independence was a weaker point in October 2022. Some children spent too long waiting around food times, and adults sometimes carried out straightforward tasks children could manage themselves. Improving routines was another action point. For families, the relevant distinction is between teaching independence through planned activities and making room for it during ordinary care.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is St Peters Church, Lordsmead, Chippenham, SN14 0LL. The Main room offers term-time sessions Monday to Friday: mornings run from 9am to 11.55am, afternoons from noon to 3pm, and all-day care from 9am to 3pm.

Extended hours reach 4pm, with varying early starts also offered. The School Preparation Group runs on Thursday and Friday, with morning sessions from 9am to 11.55am and afternoon sessions from noon to 3pm. The number of sessions it runs depends on the number of children, so its timetable carries that condition.

Enquiries can be made by telephone, mobile message or the contact form. Fees are billed termly, and attendance remains chargeable when a child is absent. Continued attendance is conditional on paying invoices within two weeks of receiving them. The illness policy requires children to be clear of vomiting or diarrhoea for 48 hours, a practical consideration when arranging cover for days away from preschool.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is accepted for eligible two-year-olds. For older children, funding starts in the term following their third birthday and continues up to the term containing their fifth birthday. The Nursery Grant covers 15 hours, or up to 30 hours for eligible children, across 38 weeks each year. Delivery is term-time rather than stretched across the year.

Funding is organised into educational blocks. A block can be at least two and a half hours, although the preschool prefers three hours to reduce disruption. Extra preschool time beyond the funded allocation is paid for privately; if funding is divided between settings, parents are invoiced for any shortfall in their Lordsmead hours. These conditions matter when fitting sessions to a funded allocation.

Morning snacks are charged separately, including alongside funded attendance. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation; the sessions and fees page sets out the attendance and payment structure.

Parent participation extends to the running of the charity. The committee generally meets each term and oversees finances, policy and development; families may volunteer for a particular role or join as a general member. Fundraising supports equipment, annual trips and additional activities, so this is a setting where family involvement can shape more than the individual child’s experience.

• Language and everyday independence. October 2022 improvement priorities concerned vocabulary, waiting at food times and adults doing tasks children could attempt. At a visit, ask how conversations and daily routines now address those points.
• Term-time attendance and school preparation. Morning, afternoon and all-day patterns are offered, but the School Preparation Group runs on Thursday and Friday with session numbers dependent on enrolment. Its age-ordered allocation matters if that group is central to your choice.
• The complete cost of care. Morning snacks are separately charged, and absence does not stop attendance fees. Ask for a written quotation covering your funded and private hours, meals and non-food consumables.

Lordsmead suits families seeking term-time morning or afternoon sessions as well as those wanting a 9am-to-3pm day. Woodland exploration, an additional school-preparation group and direct parent involvement in governance give the offer substance. The October 2022 Good judgement provides a dated quality reference; its language and routine improvement priorities remain useful points to examine. For parents drawn to a community preschool with practical outdoor learning and a named key worker, there is a clear basis for consideration.